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Chatham beats Hyannis 9-1 on the road for 4th straight win
HYANNIS, Mass. — There was one thing off about the Chatham Anglers’ first off day of the 2026 season; it wasn’t an off day.
At that point in time — a whole four days ago — the A’s hadn’t done anything to earn a day off. At least not in the eyes of manager Dennis Cook. Chatham had started the campaign 0-4 for the first time in over 25 years. The Anglers had a -14 run differential and had scored just 10 times.
So, on the league-wide off day on June 17, Cook had his team practice at Veterans Field at 9 a.m. sharp. Cook later said it was by far the team’s best practice of the season. His team played freely and enjoyed themselves.
Since, a switch has flipped for the Anglers. They look like a completely different team than they did less than a week ago. Maybe it was the extra practice Cook insisted on. Perhaps — as Cook said on the Anglers Extra Pregame Show Sunday — his team is just getting used to wooden bats and live pitching. Or maybe, as shortstop Cooper Neville (Alabama) said, the talented pieces in Chatham’s clubhouse are simply just clicking together.
Whatever it truly is, the Anglers are officially firing on all cylinders. Another win proved it Sunday.
Chatham (4-4, East) took down Hyannis (3-5, West) 9-1 at McKeon Park. The A’s pounced for five runs in the first four innings and were steadied by a gem from starter Oliver Pudvar. The UConn lefty tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just three baserunners and striking out four. The win punctuates Chatham’s first four-game winning streak since July 2024.
“We're just gonna keep competing every day and having fun and playing loose,” Cook said postgame. “Play hard, and whatever the results are, the results are.”
Cook surely has to be happy with what those results have been since the off day. First, the A’s thrashed Cotuit 17-2, then got narrow 6-5 and 6-4 wins over Brewster and Falmouth, respectively. Sunday’s win was another offensive outburst, and its pitching staff left nothing to chance.
Entering the contest, though, it seemed that keeping up the Anglers’ torrid pace offensively wasn’t going to be easy. Two of Chatham’s most important hitters — Rett Johnson (NC State) and Jacob Parker (Mississippi State) — are off for Team USA for the remainder of the summer, forcing Cook to reshape the top of his lineup. He looked to Rob Rispoli (UConn) to take over in the leadoff spot, which Johnson occupied for each of the Anglers’ first seven games.
“To me, he's a prototypical leadoff hitter,” Cook said of Rispoli. “He's gonna get in there, compete, and put his nose in there, and he did a great job tonight.”
While Rispoli struck out looking to begin the game, the rest of Chatham’s top of the order got rolling early. Bino Watters (LSU) punched a single through the middle before Connor Shouse (Texas Tech/Transfer) blooped a ball into right-center to put runners on the corners with one out. Harlin Hovater (Mississippi State) then singled to right, and Neville followed it up with a sacrifice fly to put the Anglers up 2-0 in the first.
The bottom of the order kept things going in the second. Kaiden Dossa (Yale) blooped a double into shallow left field with two away, then Rispoli dribbled a grounder to third base that scored Dossa after a throwing error by Jon Embury (FGCU).
Meanwhile, Pudvar limited any sort of threat from the Harbor Hawks on the other end. He allowed just one hit in his first three innings of work, retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and struck out two.
“He works fast, he throws strikes, and he mixes,” Cook said of Pudvar. “He’s a pitcher.”
Pudvar got some more run support with two outs in the top of the third. After Korbin Reynolds (Vanderbilt) and Dossa walked, Rispoli clubbed a line drive into the left-center gap, which skipped past center fielder Tanner Chun (Hawaii) and rolled all the way to the wall. It scored Reynolds and Dossa easily to extend the Chatham lead to 5-0.
That’s all the Angler offense offered in the early innings, but it was more than enough for Pudvar. The lefty punched out two more batters in the fourth, then — after giving up just his second hit of the day — induced an inning-ending double play in the fifth. He got through five innings in his second start of the campaign, and left in line for his first win of the year.
Even after Oisin Lee (Notre Dame/Transfer) entered the game in the sixth for Chatham, the A’s quieted the Harbor Hawk bats, partially thanks to a slick sliding play at short from Neville that induced another inning-ending double play.
Hyannis wasn’t so lucky. The Harbor Hawks went through five pitchers in the first seven innings and struggled to find any sort of consistency. They held Chatham off the board in the fifth and sixth, but the Anglers added some insurance in the seventh.
Watters led off the top of the frame with a walk before Shouse ripped a single up the middle. Even though Hovater grounded into a broken bat double play on the first pitch he saw, Watters scored to put the A’s up 6-0. Chatham put two more runners on base after Neville singled and Kelvyn Paulino Jr. (Florida State/Transfer) walked, but couldn’t add any more runs.
The Harbor Hawks got one back in the seventh with a solo shot from Caden Miller (UTSA), and threatened again after a double from Jordan Lodise (UCF). But Reynolds gunned down Lodise trying to steal third to end the frame — and, with him, any remaining momentum Hyannis had.
Chatham made sure of that with another couple of runs in the eighth and ninth. Shouse ripped a two-run double down the left field line in the eighth before Neville smacked a solo shot over the right field wall. It punctuated win number four for the A’s — a clear indication that their worst days are behind them.
“They’re swinging the bat a lot better, having better at bats, more competitive at bats,” Cook said. “They're playing loose, they're having fun.
they're pulling for each other. Just all the things that you hope for.”
A few days ago, Cook’s squad was far from that. But the growth since then is already evident. Sunday was the latest example.
Now, the Anglers’ head into another off day Monday hotter than any team on the Cape. This time, though, Cook’s letting them sleep in. No 9 a.m. practice. A proper off day for his players.
Because now, they certainly deserve it.
At that point in time — a whole four days ago — the A’s hadn’t done anything to earn a day off. At least not in the eyes of manager Dennis Cook. Chatham had started the campaign 0-4 for the first time in over 25 years. The Anglers had a -14 run differential and had scored just 10 times.
So, on the league-wide off day on June 17, Cook had his team practice at Veterans Field at 9 a.m. sharp. Cook later said it was by far the team’s best practice of the season. His team played freely and enjoyed themselves.
Since, a switch has flipped for the Anglers. They look like a completely different team than they did less than a week ago. Maybe it was the extra practice Cook insisted on. Perhaps — as Cook said on the Anglers Extra Pregame Show Sunday — his team is just getting used to wooden bats and live pitching. Or maybe, as shortstop Cooper Neville (Alabama) said, the talented pieces in Chatham’s clubhouse are simply just clicking together.
Whatever it truly is, the Anglers are officially firing on all cylinders. Another win proved it Sunday.
Chatham (4-4, East) took down Hyannis (3-5, West) 9-1 at McKeon Park. The A’s pounced for five runs in the first four innings and were steadied by a gem from starter Oliver Pudvar. The UConn lefty tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just three baserunners and striking out four. The win punctuates Chatham’s first four-game winning streak since July 2024.
“We're just gonna keep competing every day and having fun and playing loose,” Cook said postgame. “Play hard, and whatever the results are, the results are.”
Cook surely has to be happy with what those results have been since the off day. First, the A’s thrashed Cotuit 17-2, then got narrow 6-5 and 6-4 wins over Brewster and Falmouth, respectively. Sunday’s win was another offensive outburst, and its pitching staff left nothing to chance.
Entering the contest, though, it seemed that keeping up the Anglers’ torrid pace offensively wasn’t going to be easy. Two of Chatham’s most important hitters — Rett Johnson (NC State) and Jacob Parker (Mississippi State) — are off for Team USA for the remainder of the summer, forcing Cook to reshape the top of his lineup. He looked to Rob Rispoli (UConn) to take over in the leadoff spot, which Johnson occupied for each of the Anglers’ first seven games.
“To me, he's a prototypical leadoff hitter,” Cook said of Rispoli. “He's gonna get in there, compete, and put his nose in there, and he did a great job tonight.”
While Rispoli struck out looking to begin the game, the rest of Chatham’s top of the order got rolling early. Bino Watters (LSU) punched a single through the middle before Connor Shouse (Texas Tech/Transfer) blooped a ball into right-center to put runners on the corners with one out. Harlin Hovater (Mississippi State) then singled to right, and Neville followed it up with a sacrifice fly to put the Anglers up 2-0 in the first.
The bottom of the order kept things going in the second. Kaiden Dossa (Yale) blooped a double into shallow left field with two away, then Rispoli dribbled a grounder to third base that scored Dossa after a throwing error by Jon Embury (FGCU).
Meanwhile, Pudvar limited any sort of threat from the Harbor Hawks on the other end. He allowed just one hit in his first three innings of work, retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and struck out two.
“He works fast, he throws strikes, and he mixes,” Cook said of Pudvar. “He’s a pitcher.”
Pudvar got some more run support with two outs in the top of the third. After Korbin Reynolds (Vanderbilt) and Dossa walked, Rispoli clubbed a line drive into the left-center gap, which skipped past center fielder Tanner Chun (Hawaii) and rolled all the way to the wall. It scored Reynolds and Dossa easily to extend the Chatham lead to 5-0.
That’s all the Angler offense offered in the early innings, but it was more than enough for Pudvar. The lefty punched out two more batters in the fourth, then — after giving up just his second hit of the day — induced an inning-ending double play in the fifth. He got through five innings in his second start of the campaign, and left in line for his first win of the year.
Even after Oisin Lee (Notre Dame/Transfer) entered the game in the sixth for Chatham, the A’s quieted the Harbor Hawk bats, partially thanks to a slick sliding play at short from Neville that induced another inning-ending double play.
Hyannis wasn’t so lucky. The Harbor Hawks went through five pitchers in the first seven innings and struggled to find any sort of consistency. They held Chatham off the board in the fifth and sixth, but the Anglers added some insurance in the seventh.
Watters led off the top of the frame with a walk before Shouse ripped a single up the middle. Even though Hovater grounded into a broken bat double play on the first pitch he saw, Watters scored to put the A’s up 6-0. Chatham put two more runners on base after Neville singled and Kelvyn Paulino Jr. (Florida State/Transfer) walked, but couldn’t add any more runs.
The Harbor Hawks got one back in the seventh with a solo shot from Caden Miller (UTSA), and threatened again after a double from Jordan Lodise (UCF). But Reynolds gunned down Lodise trying to steal third to end the frame — and, with him, any remaining momentum Hyannis had.
Chatham made sure of that with another couple of runs in the eighth and ninth. Shouse ripped a two-run double down the left field line in the eighth before Neville smacked a solo shot over the right field wall. It punctuated win number four for the A’s — a clear indication that their worst days are behind them.
“They’re swinging the bat a lot better, having better at bats, more competitive at bats,” Cook said. “They're playing loose, they're having fun.
they're pulling for each other. Just all the things that you hope for.”
A few days ago, Cook’s squad was far from that. But the growth since then is already evident. Sunday was the latest example.
Now, the Anglers’ head into another off day Monday hotter than any team on the Cape. This time, though, Cook’s letting them sleep in. No 9 a.m. practice. A proper off day for his players.
Because now, they certainly deserve it.
